


The Outer Limits

by Maone



Series: Killers In The Dark [2]
Category: Rush Hour (1998)
Genre: Gore, Horror, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-01 19:55:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13302060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maone/pseuds/Maone
Summary: Just when Carter thought they finally got rid of their kidnappers, an anonymous tips appears on Captain Diel's desk.





	1. Chapter 1

„Since when the hell is Lee living with you? I thought he was gonna go back to China.“ Johnson leaned back in her chair, eyes curiously studying her expartner.

„Why that botherin‘ you girl? You want him in your bed instead? Cause don’t get me wrong, I’m all up for threesome, but that might be a tight fit, you get me.“ Carter wiggled his eyebrow suggestively.

„You’re a pig.“ Johnson cringed.

„Police, the word you are looking for is police.“

Before Johnson flipped him off, the chief’s door opened and they both perked up upon seeing Diel and Lee.

„-It’s been five months inspector, since there were no more disappearances linked to this case, there’s nothing more I can tell you about this. Let the FBI deal with this, alright?“ Diel exhaled, frustration heavy in his voice. Carter and Johnson shared a look of curiosity.

„They say same thing you do, nobody is doing anything!“ Lee shot back desperately.

Diel stopped in his tracks and turned to the chinese inspector. „The only reason you are still here, is because your superiors said you’d help with the case of human trafficking, so instead of nagging me about something that is already being dealt with by the higher ups, go do the job you’ve been told to do, before I ship you back to China myself!“ He snarled.

Lee swallowed hard, biting back any argument that might have followed that.

„Yes, sir.“

Diel nodded and his gaze fell to the silent group of officers in the room, staring at them. „Done enjoying the show? Get back to work!“ He snapped, fist slamming against a nearby desk making several officers jump and quickly rushing off to their respective workplaces.

Carter and Johnson watched Diel disappear to the conference room.

„What the hell was that about? I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen him this pissed off.“ Johnson straightened in her chair, grabbing a pencil off the table to twirl it between her fingers. "And Lee on top of that, boy, his mood is down the gutter today."

The lack of snarky reply made her look up, but Carter’s attention was fixed on Lee. Neither of them said a word, but Johnson could tell there was some unspoken conversation going on as Carter tilted his head and motioned for Lee to come over. However, his partner shook his head and headed for the exit, hands balled into fists, clearly frustrated. When the door shut behind him, Carter sighed.

And Johnson remembered then.

„Is this about what happened to you two in Canada? Back when…?“ She trailed off.

Carter nodded, still staring at the door. „Yeah. Lee's still trying to get the work on it, but it's a lost cause.“

Johnson pressed on. „What did actually happen back there? Since you told Diel you’ve been quiet about it. You’ve never been quiet about anything Carter, what’s going on?“

There was a pause and Johnson couldn’t tell what was running through his head, with his back turned towards her.

„This is between me and Lee, sorry girl.“ He replied stiffly and pushed himself off her desk. She watched him with frown. No, this wasn't how things worked between them.

„I wouldn’t…I’d understand.“ She tried.

At her words, he turned to face her and gave her a wink.

„Yeah, you would, that’s why you are my favourite girl.“ He grinned and left for the exit.

Johnson bit her lip, the pencil in her hand snapping in half. _Fuck._

Carter found Lee outside at the bottom of the stairs. Arms crossed, staring at something in the distance. Carter turned to check if anyone else was heading out and when the coast was clear, he let the door shut and walked over to his partner, sneaking his arm around Lee’s shoulders, the closest thing to affection they’d dare to do in such an open area.

„You good?“ He asked softly.

„Nobody is looking for the people who kidnapped us. Nobody cares.“ Lee muttered.

„Oh they care, they care about their own asses, babe. The second some rich white asshole sets his foot down, we’re all fucked, he gonna get what he wants, don’t matter who gets snuffed out over it.“ Carter said matter-of-factly.

„I don’t understand how nobody saw those large men, they got outside forest, they _chased us_.“

They both remembered their struggle to get away that day, it was a narrow escape with those people so close on their tail…whatever they were.

„Maybe they got caught while we were in the town, I doubt anyone would share that information with us if they’re so into keeping it hush-hush.“ Carter shrugged. He didn’t want to think about other possibilities. "As long as they're off our asses, I don't care."

As long as they left them in Canada, he’d be alright with it.

But of course Lee wouldn’t settle down with that.

„Carter, what if-„ His partner started, but Carter shook his head, he knew where this was going.

„Don’t jinx it Lee, we got out, nobody came after us since, can’t we just leave it at that?“ He pleaded. „Why would they be after us anyway, nobody believed us, don’t matter what we say. If you keep bringing it up to Diel, he’s gonna seriously ship you off to China.“

Lee looked at him and Carter could see the worry in his expressions.

„What if they _weren’t_ caught?“

Carter tapped on his leg nervously and removed his arm from Lee’s shoulder.

„Even if they weren’t, how would they know we’re here? I think people would notice bunch of big motherfuckers with machetes. Don’t tell me you are seriously suggesting that **we** actually go looking for them?!“ He snapped.

„Carter, I’ll have to go back to Hong Kong eventually, I don’t want to leave you on your own if something does happen.“ Lee said softly and reached for Carter’s hand, the man looking around nervously but entwining their fingers nevertheless.

Carter sighed.

„I’m sorry babe, but I’m not doing this and I honestly don’t want you to either. If they come here, they’ll get a bullet between their eyes, but I ain’t leaving my comfort zone and have them get me off guard in middle of buttfuck nowhere like last time. We’ve both seen what they are capable of.“

Lee bit his lip but remained silent.

They watched cars driving by as momentary silence fell over them. The sun was going down already, just couple more hours of work and then _home sweet home_. After a moment, Carter squeezed his lover’s hand and turned back towards the building. „Come on, let’s get back inside, no point in talking about this anymore, we both know it.“

He headed back to the office, but paused when Lee didn’t follow him.

„Lee?“

Lee had phone in his hand and motioned to Carter to go inside without him. „I just need to make a quick phone call, I’ll be there soon.“

Carter eyed him suspiciously, Lee rolled his eyes. „Not job related.“

When Carter clicked his tongue and walked inside, Lee smiled. He pressed the phone against his ear, the foreign language smoothly rolling off his tongue.

„ _I couldn't get them to talk._ “

* * *

 

„Johnson! In my office.“

Johnson looked up from her paperwork to see Diel standing at the door of his office. Putting her pen down, she stood up and sharing one curious look with Carter at the opposite desk, headed for the chief’s office.

Once she was in, Diel closed the door and motioned her to sit down. As soon as they were both seated, Diel slid a photograph across the table towards her, she leaned closer to get a look.

„You know what this is?“ He queried.

It was an old photograph of a certain company warehouse, not exceptionally interesting at first glance.

„Some sort of a storage?“ Johnson offered with a shrug.  Diel rolled his eyes.

„That’s what warehouses are for, yes. But this one belongs to John Rubio, to his company REW to be specific.“

„The politician?“ She raised an eyebrow. "What about him?"

Diel nodded. „This doesn’t directly concern him, but there has been suspicious activity going on about his business. REW keeps buying warehouses that they never end up using, the word is that it might be smuggling or drug related, but nothing has ever been recovered.“

Johnson was puzzled.

„I don’t get it chief, if there’s nothing to go on, what do you want me to do? This isn’t even in our precint,“ She leaned closer to the photograph, „I don’t think this is even in L.A, maybe the outskirts.“

„It’s not our precint, but it heavily involves our officers.“

She looked up at Diel.

„Is this about Carter and Lee?“ She asked, concern rising.

„Partially, I can’t give you any specifics on what happened five months ago, but when they resurfaced after their kidnapping, the location they pinpointed was property of REW. The warehouse that you are looking at here, was sent to us as an anonymous tip with the promise of holding clues to back up our detective’s story.“

„Why are you telling this to me? Carter and Lee should know about this, they should –„

„Even though the warehouse hasn’t been in use since it’s been purchased it’s still guarded and that means if detective Carter or inspector Lee show up there, REW will know that the investigation hasn’t been dropped and they will destroy any and every piece of remaining evidence of what happened. I don’t want you to go there and present yourself as an officer either, you have to get in as a civilian.“

„How do I know what am I even looking for? Nobody will tell me anything about what happened, so how would I know that I found anything useful?“ She pointed out.

Diel tapped on the photograph.

„That’s where you gotta follow your cop instincts, I wouldn’t be giving you this task if I didn’t have faith in your abilities. The address to that warehouse is on the back of the photograph. Take Stevens with you as back up and don't tell Carter.“

Johnson swallowed hard, but nodded. She picked up the photograph and stood up, heading out of the door. Before she left, she turned to Diel one more time.

„You never dropped the case, did you?“ She asked.

Diel quirked a smile, but said nothing.

* * *

 

 _Faith in my abilities, but not enough faith to tell me what the hell is going on._ She furrowed her brow, staring at the picture. As soon as she closed the door, a sudden firm grip on her wrist dragged her aside and she yelped in surprise. When she looked up, there was Carter, dragging her towards the hallway and as soon as they were out of earshot he pushed her against the wall and pointed a finger in her face.

„Fuck Stevens and fuck Diel, we’re coming with you, got it?“ He practically growled.

She blinked, momentarily stunned.

But the pushed Carter away from her. „What the hell is the matter with you? You were eavesdropping? And besides, who the hell are you to tell me what to do, last time I remember you didn’t want to share shit about what happened to you and Lee, I’m not your lap dog, Carter.“ She hissed.

Before she could make an attempt to leave, Carter grabbed her again and pulled her right back against the wall. "It was bad enough that Lee and I got involved, last thing I wanted was drag you into it. If Diel's doing that on his own, you seriously have to let us come with you, I don’t want you going there without someone competent.“

„Oh, because you are just oozing with competence, aren’t you Carter?“ She sneered. „Besides, you heard chief, if either of you are recognized the whole thing will blow, you can’t go.“

As she made another attempt to move, Carter slammed his hand against the wall so forcefully it shook and people actually paused at that. Johnson froze.

„You are not going without us. This ain’t just about keeping you in the dark, we barely got away from them without ending on the list of missing and as far as I know, we are the only ones to do that as of yet. You are not going anywhere near the proximity of those sick fucks without us, even if I have to fucking handcuff myself to you.“ The hostility in his voice was almost unrecognizable to her and for a moment, she wondered if Carter was more hurt by what happened five months ago than he was willing to admit.

Before she uttered a reply, another voice came from down the hall.

„What are you doing Carter?“

Both Carter and Johnson turned to see Lee slowly approaching them.

Despite Johnson’s protest, Carter pried the photo out of her grasp and showed it to Lee. „Looks familiar?“

Lee took the photograph and briefly studied it.

Johnson sighed and looked away. _Great, Diel’s going to kill me_.

„Logo from the forest.“ Lee’s eyes widened upon realization. He raised the photo towards Johnson. „Where did you get this?“ He demanded.

„Diel gave it to her, turns out he hasn’t given up on the case like we thought. It’s one of their warehouses, apparently holds some clues to our incident.“ Carter answered in her place.

„We have to go there-„ Lee started, that’s when Johnson raised her hands diplomaticaly.

„Hold up, alright? If I’m going to be stuck with you two and I have a feeling that I will,“ she glared at Carter, „We’ll do this my way.“

„What do you mean ‚your way?“ Carter asked skeptically.

„Regardless of you bullying me into this,“ she said and in the corner of her eye saw Lee giving Carter a disapproving look, „This is still my case, so my neck is as much on the line as yours and I actually want to keep my job, Carter.“

Carter rolled his eyes, but before he said anything, Lee rested a hand on his shoulder, quieting him.

„That’s okay with us.“ He said with a smile.

„Great,“ she replied with a mocking smile of her own,“I’ll pick you two up at five tomorrow, dress in casual. It's gonna be a long ride.“ She pushed past Carter and headed for her desk.

„Why can’t we just follow you in my car?“ Carter called out after her.

„Because we are supposed to look normal, Carter!“ She called back.

„What's that got to do with using my car?“

„Calm down, Carter, she just meant your car is special.“

* * *

 

Carter slammed the door to their apartment, ignoring the way it rattled every piece of decoration nearby. Lee continued to the bedroom, used to Carter's random outbursts at this point.

„Should’ve known something would go to shit, typical-„ Carter ranted to himself, loosening his tie and tossing it on the floor, his jacket and shoes following in suit. He walked over to the living room, falling heavily on top of a couch.

Lee glanced at the mess Carter left and sighed, walking over to the trail of discarded clothes, picking it up.

„Come on Carter…“ He muttered to himself.

Once he was done putting the clothes to their designated spot, he walked over to the kitchen.

„Can you toss me a beer while you’re there Lee?“ Carter’s voice rang from the living room.

As Lee entered the living room, he threw the bottle in Carter’s direction without giving the motion a single glance, Carter barely caught it and gave him a look.

„Should  have known you’d take that literaly.“ He grumbled in annoyance.

Lee opened his own water bottle with a smile on his lips. „You are getting good, didn’t even drop it this time.“

„Dunno what’re you talking about, babe. I’m always good.“ Carter carefully opened the bottle, keeping it at safe proximity from himself once it started sizzling. When he was sure the foam wouldn’t explode in his face, he took a sip. „I don’t know what do you have against beer.“

„Tastes weird.“ Lee shrugged and put the water bottle on a table. Carter watched him walk across the room towards the window, unbuttoning his shirt.

„You tryin’ to put on a show for the drug dealers down the alley or something‘?“ Carter waved the beer bottle in his direction.

„What?“ Lee paused what he was doing, genuinely puzzled, then he looked down on himself and realized what Carter meant, he rolled his eyes and took off his shirt, throwing it at laughing Carter. Then he proceeded to put his leg absurdly high against the wall and Carter’s laugh died into a pained sound.

„It’s not sexy if you dislocate your hip bone, man.“

„If you don’t like, don’t look. I need to stretch.“ Lee retorted.

„You could stretch on my perfectly available lap right here.“ Carter pointed at his crouch proudly.

The slow look in his direction combined with the most stone cold expression he had ever seen, was his cue to get up and go take a shower.

Two hours later Carter found himself on the couch in front of the tv, staring blankly at whatever commercial was on at that moment, by this time Lee was finished with his self abuse he called _exercise_ and headed for his own shower.

With a sigh, Carter turned the tv off and moved to the bedroom. He couldn’t deny that he felt like utter shit. The anxiety from what was to come tomorrow.

Just fuck.

He didn’t want to go, didn’t want to be anywhere near the people who were responsible for all those nightmares him and Lee had to deal with since the kidnapping. It was frustrating getting back to his job as if nothing happened, because that’s exactly how everyone in the force treated it – nothing. Carter found himself being way more paranoid than he’s ever been and to add insult to injury, he couldn’t handle being in the darkness. He wasn’t sure if this was a sign of PTSD, but whenever he was in a situation where he couldn’t see anything, it was as if he was back in the maze and back to fighting for his life.

He wondered how Lee was doing, they never really discussed it knowing that it might just make things worse. His partner definitely never said anything to Carter always leaving at least one light on when they went to sleep. Maybe he was scared too, god knows what he went through before running into Carter.

„You okay?“

Carter jumped, his heart in his throat.

„Jesus Lee! Keep that ninja shit out of the bedroom will ya?“ He gasped.

„I was talking to you and you weren’t responding.“ Lee said defensively.

„Oh, hm.“ Carter slouched on his side of the bed, running hand over his face. He could feel Lee crawling over from his side to sit behind him, arms sneaking around his waist.

„Something wrong?“ Lee said softly against his ear.

Carter almost laughed at that. Fuck yeah something’s wrong. Everything’s wrong. They got away from bunch of sick fucks and instead of keeping it that way, they walk straight back again.

„You know, you don’t seem really bothered about what’s happening right now. This whole thing regarding what happened to us five months ago suddenly coming back to haunt us. We barely got out of there alive and now we are straight up walking back to say hello.“

„I never said I’m not bothered, Carter.“

„Well, it doesn’t show!“ Carter snapped. Lee let go of him.

„You don’t have to yell at me.“  He said hurtfully and Carter immediately regretted it. Before Lee could pull away far enough, Carter turned around, grabbing him around waist and pulling him right back. Lee looked at him, searching. "I'm scared too." He added quietly. Carter swallowed.

_I don't want to have them on my mind during my last moments of peace._

They remained in silence, thoughts running through their minds.

When he finally looked up, the look in Lee's eyes spoke volumes, but it was the sound of his voice that broke the tension between them.

“Carter.” Lee shuddered, his hands making their way around Carter's neck, pulling him closer until their breaths mingled.

 _Touch me_. The words hung unspoken.

And Carter did. His hands moved automatically, uncurling from around Lee's waist and resting on his hips, pushing the fabric of his shirt up until he felt the warm skin beneath his fingers.

Lee guided his hands lower, slipping underneath the waistband and pressing their lips together in a needy, hungry kiss. Carter's response was almost immediate, briefly breaking the kiss to remove Lee's shirt, Lee's hands automatically doing the same with his.

And then their lips were back on each other and Lee was falling back, fingers brushing over Carter's biceps, moving lower to strip him off the rest of the clothes, Carter already halfway through with Lee's. Soon there was nothing, but skin on skin and Carter was eyeing the drawer, but Lee was faster. With a smile against his lips, Carter gasped when their position suddenly changed, Lee turning them over in one fluid motion. Those strong muscular thighs holding Carter down in a firm grip, was almost enough to make him rock solid right there and then. But then Lee was leaning over him like a cat and reaching for the condom and lube himself.

Carter gasps when Lee starts rocking his hips back and forth above him, building friction in his groin. Carter feels himself leaking over their stomachs, and they’re glued together with precum and sweat and it’s so fucking hot that he feels like he might die. He has to do something before he cums like a teenager.

His hands press hard against Lee's hips, holding him in place and his lover gives him a curious look, placing the condoms and lube besides them, letting this foreplay go where Carter wants it.

Carter pulled himself up, now face to face with Lee still in his lap with that teasing smile on his lips and his legs now spread and resting at Carter's sides. Carter smirked and leaned in, licking a strip up Lee's throat to his earlobe and nibbling at it.

"Gonna fuck that smirk off your face." He breathed hotly in Lee's ear, rocking their bodies, making him shudder.

Satisfied with the reaction, Carter reached for the bottle of lube, squirting some on his fingers, the liquid soothingly cool against his hot skin.

His slicked up fingers dips into Lee, clutching at the muscle and skin in front of him. Lee sucked in a short breath, but quickly eased around the intrusion, letting the two fingers sink deeper, stretching him. Their cocks rubbed against one another, leaking with precum as their bodies continued to rock together.

As Carter added a third finger, Lee whined and grabbed for Carter's shoulders, desperate eyes begging him to just **fuck** him already. But oh how Carter loved to render his lover into writhing mess, that perfectly toned body all laid out there for him, ready to be taken. Those cute innocent eyes now looking at him, dilated with need as Carter worked his fingers inside of him.

"Always so eager for my cock, that's what I love about you babe." Carter growled against his ear and pressed his lips against Lee's throat, sucking hard. Making sure he remembers this one. He wants to see his handiwork later. "You better not hide it, I want to be able to see it." He licked at the mark. Lee just reduced to mewling, his hand reaching down for Carter's cock. "Like I said, always so damn eager."

Finally, Carter pushed Lee on his back, fingers still buried deep inside of him. He reached for the opened bottle of lube with his free hand and handed it to Lee. "Help yourself babe." He nodded towards his dick.

Lee slicked up his hands and wrapped his fingers around his lover's shaft, Carter hissing at the coldness. As Lee rubs his length, slicking it up, Carter leaned down for another breath stealing kiss. His fingers steadily moving in and out of Lee while he devoured those lips, pressing their bodies tightly together. He enjoyed the motion for a moment, before he removed his fingers without warning, he pulled his cock from Lee's grasp and pushed right in, in one swift motion and the feeling of heat around him pulled a moan out of him, while Lee gasped in surprise against his lips.

They had plenty of sex prior to this, Lee was used to his length, but Carter always did something unexpected and it was like a whole new experience all over again.

Giving Lee a moment to adjust, he finally began to move, his hands sliding down to hook Lee's legs over his arms as their mouths battled in their sloppy kiss. Carter always experimented when they had sex, because Lee was never particularily vocal and that was honestly surprising to him, because during fights Carter would hear him grunting left and right, but when it came to sex, he was surprisingly trying to hold back. Biting his lips, his hand, covering his mouth, just doing whatever he can to muffle those delicious sounds that Carter **wanted** to hear.

So, Carter was on a mission to get him make those sounds, one way or another. His thrusts always unpredictable, teasing that sweet spot and keeping a slow tempo as long as he could before Lee got physical on him and forced him deeper inside with the bare strength of his legs. He was always so adorably impatient. But even Carter has his limits and soon his thrusts become erratic, until he can't help himself and fucks Lee with vigor. Carter too lost in pleasure to utter any more filthy words and the room is filled with nothing more but the sound of skin against skin and increasing moans. It wasn't long before Lee was coming between their stomachs, Carter's vigorous thrusts spreading the mess further between them.

Until finally Carter came with a grunt and bit down on Lee's collarbone, making him yelp.

Both spent, they remained still while collecting their breath, their bodies firmly pressed together, covered in sweat and come. Carter pressed his face into crook of Lee's neck, his softening cock still inside his lover. Lee rubbed comforting circles on Carter's back.

It was their little moment of serenity before storm.

"Carter," Lee finally broke the silence.

"Hm?" Carter grumbled against his skin.

"You forgot the condom again."

Carter barked a laugh and raised his head, giving Lee his most serious expression.

"I guess you are gonna be a mom then."

Lee smacked him across the head.

* * *

 

The next morning Johnson drove up to Carter’s apartment as promised. She wondered what they decided to put on, knowing that this was not exactly the most fashionable pair in L.A . Carter’s outfit as predictable as always, leather, leather and more leather, she was starting to wonder if he had a kink going on here. She was curious about Lee however, thorough his entire stay he kept his smart outfits on regardless if the three of them just went out to a bar, she wasn’t sure if it was just him trying to look like a gentleman or he just lacked the wardrobe.

As she pulled up next to them, she got a closer look at her new partners. Carter wore leather – what a shocker. She had seen that outfit on him hundreds of times. _Casual doesn’t mean a pimp, Carter._

She almost didn’t recognize Lee, seeing the chinese inspector in suits has apparently become his trademark so seeing him in jeans, plain white shirt and black jacket was a bit surprising. He actually looked very nice!

„Hello boys, hope you-„ Johnson stepped out of her car, but the words of greeting died as soon as she saw them up close. Both detectives looked utterly worn out. Johnson’s eyes danced from one man to the other in confusion. „You two look like death.“ She watched them both look at each other tiredly and back at her.

„Long night.“ Carter grumbled and moved to the backseat of her car.

„You aren’t gonna fight over who rides shotgun? Are seriously okay?“ She said in astonishment, but then Lee wordlessly followed in suit and she rushed to Carter’s side before he closed the door. „Hold on a second, I don’t want you two together back there, I know your grabby hands Carter, you and your bad influence on Lee here-„

„Oh don’t worry about that girl, I’m all outta influence, I’m just gonna take a nap before we get there.“ Carter was practically slurring. Next to him Lee nodded in agreement, his eyes already drooping. Johnson’s mouth clapped shut and she stood there looking over them suspiciously for a moment, but then walked to the driver’s seat and got in.

Her hands rested on the steering wheel, eyes shooting up to the rear mirror watching the two nearly passed out men in the back. Each curled to their separate side obediently – for now.

Then she saw what was, in her opinion, a very obvious hickey on Lee’s neck.

_What._

She saw red.

Johnson slammed her hands against the steering wheel so hard the car horn blasted thorough the neighbourhood, the car moved from how violently the two detectives jumped.

„Why do you keep doing this to me, for fuck sake! Your dick is dragging this whole team down, **Carter**!“

„Whoa, whoa hold on, it takes two to tango alright? Don’t blame it all on me, Lee was an active participant.“

„Seriously Lee? I’d expect this from the manchild over here-„

„I’m not a –„ Carter started, but Johnson continued, ignoring him completely.

„But you too?“

Lee looked away in embarassment. 

„You two better be awake and alert by the time we get there or I’m seriously going to castrate you both, I have a gun, loaded gun.“

„Okay, okay! Calm down satan, we’ll be up and ready, how long is this going to take?“

„Four to five hours, six if you buy me a dinner after this.“

„If it’s a burger joint I accept.“

„ _Providence_.“ She sneered.

„Providence?!“ Carter cried out. „I didn’t even spend that much on people I actually slept with! Lee you better pull out your wallet, this is gonna be one expensive nap.“

Lee’s reply was nothing more than a shrug as he wiggled in his seat, getting comfortable.

* * *

 

„Before you two pass out, could you maybe fill me in on what you know about those guys?“ Johnson asked as soon as they got on the highway.

There was a momentary silence that made her glance back real quick, but they were both awake and looking at each other.

„We’re not really sure, but the shit we’ve seen looked military grade.“ Carter finally replied.

„Mafia is able to access those on some occassions.“ Johnson offered. „Isn’t that your expertise Lee? I heard you have quite the reputation with wiping out organized crime in China.“

„Depends what kind of gang it is and what they want from it.“ Lee said. „Mafia like Yakuza is organized, they have a lot of influence on japanese government, but that’s it, they have only power like that in their home. Even if they did this in their territory,makes no sense, there’s nothing to gain. Triads maybe, but-“

„And what exactly were they doing in Canada?“

More silence.

„We had an agreement, Carter!“ She shouted.

„I dunno how to summarize it, okay?!“ He snapped back. Then with a sigh, he rubbed a hand over his face. „It was some sort of a boot camp,I don’t even know what they were trying to do with those…people, whatever they were. It was like a serial killer training camp.“

„Training them how to kill in complete dark, you saw their masks Carter. The way they used the machetes.“

„Machetes?“ Johnson queried.

Carter nodded absently. „They’d drag them along, so even though we couldn’t see anything, we heard them. Pretty damn stupid if you are trying to be stealthy killer, but it saved our lives in a way.“

„They chased you around in the dark, was it some kind of a building then? I thought Diel said you showed up from some forest resort, that doesn’t sound even remotely terrifying as what you are describing right now.“

„They didn’t believe us from the start, somehow those assholes from REW managed to hide all the bodies and carnage before the cops got there.“

„ _Bodies_? Did you just say bodies?“

„Johnson watch the road!“

„Shit, sorry.“ She corrected the car back into its lane. „You better not be fucking with me-„

„Oh believe me Johnson, I couldn’t believe that shit either and I was there. If Lee wasn’t with me, I’d think it was all a bad dream.“

„Sounds like one. So to summarize it, all we really know is that they are training serial killers.“

„In the dark, I think the guy I was in a cell with called them Burrowers.“

„Burrowers? Weird. Any idea what use would they have for people like that?“

„Too loud for stealth, definitely not assassins, but they are very strong, dangerous.“ Lee pointed out.

„They were killing people by groups, remember Lee? Four of us in the underground maze, then that cabin…“

„And the gate.“

„I don’t think those REW guys have as much control over their murder squad as we think. They must have lost, what, over a dozen of their own people while looking for them?“

„The Burrowers got out? Did they manage to catch them?“

„No idea, when we got out of there they made it out of the forest, but the cops we sent there found nothing, no sign of them or the people they killed. They were standing out a lot so I find it hard to believe they’d jut waltz around unnoticed.“

„There better not be any to where we’re going…“ Johnson muttered.

* * *

 

Three hours passed and Johnson watched their surroundings change from the booming city life to vastly abandoned rural area. Buildings were now replaced by trees decorating the side of the long stretch of road and the thickness of traffic reduced to a car passing by every now and then.

It was pretty dead, which in Johnson’s opinion wasn’t ever good concerning suspicious warehouse activities. She kept thinking about the information that Carter and Lee shared with her earlier. The whole ordeal wasn’t well documented and the detectives as well as their superiors were pretty hush hush about it, if that wasn’t a huge red flag, she didn’t know what was.

Of course she was concerned, those were her friends and they weren’t talking. So she did some digging.

Prior to Carter’s and Lee’s kidnapping, there were few records of missing officers, but those cases were never properly investigated nor connected to one another. The kidnappings were random in every point, from location to date, from ages to positions of the officers and finally – the way they were kidnapped.

In many cases Johnson came across the word ‚disappearance‘ rather than kidnapping and it was pretty odd. It was unfortunately impossible to compare Carter and Lee’s kidnapping to those, since neither of them remembered the night it happened – at least that’s what they said in their final statement.

So their case was set aside and any further evidence sealed away once FBI took over. Johnson tapped on the steering wheel impatiently. Now she really wanted to see what the evidence was.

She checked the rear mirror, question already on her tongue, but as soon as her eyes fell on the duo in the back, she held back and her lips twitched with a smile.

Somehow Lee managed to scoot over to Carter without her noticing and was now firmly pressed against his side, arms wrapped around his middle and head resting against Carter’s shoulder. Carter’s arm rested around Lee’s shoulders as they both snoozed and that must have been probably the most domestic gesture Johnson has ever seen coming from her expartner.

* * *

 

Once she saw the warehouse in the distance, she stopped the car and turned to her companions. They’ve both waken up while ago, but Lee didn’t bother moving to his seat and just stayed pressed against Carter with his partner’s arm wrapped around his waist the rest of the ride.

They both looked out of the window at the warehouse as soon as she stopped.

„I’m going to drop you off here, you’ll have to find your way in on your own, I don’t know how well guarded the place is.“ She said.

„We’ll be fine, you be careful though.“ Carter replied.

She waved him off and both men got out of the car, disappearing into the forest. She sighed, gripped the steering wheel tightly and drove towards the gate.

The place looked ominous already, the warehouse was surrounded by trees and visibly hasn’t been maintained in years, rust and mold visible from distance is never a good sign. She stopped her car in front of the gate and got out. Walking closer towards the gate, she saw nobody. Not a single guard, no cameras, no nothing.

 _Is this place abandoned?_ She wondered quietly.

She looked around to see if she could open the gate, but it was chained rather well with a fairly new lock. The gate was way too tall for her to climb over it. Not getting in through here then. She began to walk along the equally tall fence, looking for a way in. As she walked, she pulled out her phone, dialing Carter to see if they managed to get in, but she was immediately given the ‚no signal‘ message. With frustration, she put the phone back in her pocket and kept walking along the fence.

First impression so far was the place had to be abandoned, it wasn’t long before Johnson had to struggle through tall grass and bushes growing around the fence, hoping that she wouldn’t catch any ticks. Or step on a snake. Were there snakes in that area?

Eventually she spotted a large branch growing over the fence, she took off her jacket and tied it around her waist. She climbed up the tree and crawled over the branch before jumping down on the other side and cleaning her hands on her jeans.

No shots fired, so that was a good sign.

She walked around to the front of the building and found it wide open. Cautiously she pulled out her gun and moved inside.

Then she saw Carter and Lee standing there, staring at something beneath their feet. She walked closer, putting her gun away and a strong smell hit her and her hand shot up to her face, she gagged.

They both turned upon hearing her make a strangled noise, their expressions grim.

„Did you find the evidence?“ She asked, her voice muffled over her hand.

Lee just ran his hand through his hair and Carter shook his head, cursing under his breath.

As she stood behind them, she finally realized what they were looking at.

Severed body, already discolored and bloated from advanced decomposition.

She stared at it, speechless.

„We found evidence alright.“ Carter muttered.

 


	2. Chapter 2

 "Alright, well," Johnson turned her eyes away from the corpse, preserving her breakfast while Carter and Lee circled the remains without as much as a frown. She saw as Carter poked at the loose fleshy arm with the tip of his shoe.

"Carter!" Lee hissed with outrage.

"I'm tryin' to see what it was cut with!" Carter said defensively, but Lee was pulling him away from the body. "I don't have no gloves, okay?!"

"And clearly no respect." Lee accused and leaned over the remains with most likely the same intent as Carter, who decided to be the more active party here. "I told you! You gotta at least nudge it a little bit-"

"Stop touching the body with your foot Carter!" Lee snapped.

"Stop pretending that you can see shit then, you clearly can't! And I'm not touching it with my foot, I'm touching it with my shoe!"

* * *

 

Johnson left the bickering pair behind and headed back outside, checking her phone one more time she cursed under her breath. Still no damn reception. Alright, maybe if she walks around a bit she might get at least a bar. The property was large enough for her to wander around, various building materials laying around and long overdue of their use. The warehouse itself was completely bare, besides the obviously dismembered body in the center, there wasn't whole lot to go on guessing what was REW doing there. Not even a proper address! If Johnson didn't have the photograph she wouldn't even know where to send the coroner.

Everything about this place made her uneasy and if it wasn't for Carter and Lee and her undenying duty, she'd book it out of there like it's nobody's business. There was a lot to question about this 'anonymous tip', Johnson's cop sense were screaming at her and the more she explored the area, the stronger her suspicions were growing.

After doing a full circle around the warehouse, she figured there's no way they can call anyone from here, with a sigh she tucked her phone away and headed back towards the warehouse entrance. They'll have to drive around until there's a signal to speak of, obviously the risk was huge, if this place was being monitored and they've been spotted, that body would be either removed before they can get anyone there or they'll be removed instead. She could live with the first option.

A distinctive sound of a car engine stopped her dead in tracks. For a moment she thought she imagined it, but no, it was growing louder, nearing their location. Johnson jogged towards the fence, crouching by the bushes, trying to keep herself as low as possible while she watched the road. It was a bit difficult to see the road from her position, but the approaching black dot was definitely a car, very definitely approaching their location.

Johnson's eyes snapped towards the warehouse, did Carter and Lee hear it? If she ran over there now, she'd be definitely seen. She turned to check on the car again, it already came to a halt behind hers.

Run for it or stay in your nice and secure cover. They are big boys, they can handle it right? They were in worse situations after all...

As her thoughts danced in her mind, four men exited the vehicle, all of them carrying guns.

There's no way in hell she could dodge those bullets if she booked it for the warehouse. She groaned in frustration and slowly retreated further from the gate. Maybe there's another way to warn the two inside before those guys get in there..

As soon as she reached the south of the warehouse, a loud explosion shook the ground and Johnson hurriedly pressed herself against the worn metal wall. With her ears ringing, she inched back towards the corner to see what happened and with widened eyes realized it was her car blown to smithereens.

At the same time she noticed presence of another individual who hasn’t been there before, large man. Very large man. The guy must have been at least seven feet tall, exposed arms covered in muscles, while his chest seemed to be covered with bulletproof vest. Came prepared then.

As he came closer to the view once the gate was opened, Johnson also noticed the rather odd looking mask covering his face, gas mask without eye holes. She quirked an eyebrow. Could this be one of the freaks Carter and Lee talked about?

Her attention snapped back to the task at hand. Warn them.

The bad guys were heading for the warehouse. She cursed under her breath and quickly made her way around the building, looking for alternative entrance.

They must have heard the explosion, hopefully they thought quicker than she did.

She couldn’t see any back door, even as she peeked on the eastern side of warehouse. Her attention was snapped when she heard a noise. Coming from above her. She looked up.

Carter was hanging out of a window at the top of the building, inching his way towards one of the supporting pillars. She breathed sigh of relief and hastily checked the nearest corner for anyone coming in. So far, so clear. She watched as Carter finally reached the pillar and began to slide down.

She was about to ask where’s Lee when she saw the man do the same as Carter on the opposite side of the window in one fluid motion.

„Thanks for the warning Johnson.“ Carter said with a hint of sarcasm, replacing her relief with frustration.

„My car blowing up wasn’t good enough?“ She hissed.

Carter looked up. „Shit, that was your car?“ He leaned around the corner. „Well, damn.“

Johnson glanced towards Lee who was checking his phone.

„No signal, I already tried it.“ She said, shaking her head.

With a sigh, Lee tucked the phone away again.

„Let’s go.“ He said and moved towards the southern fence, Johnson and Carter shared a look and followed.

Carter and Lee assisted Johnson with climbing over the fence, with Carter following in suit. Johnson was about to ask how is he going to get over, but Lee effortlesly climbed over the thing without as much as a grunt.

„You are putting my exercising to shame.“ She said as soon as he dropped down next to her. He just chuckled at that.

* * *

 

They ran away from the warehouse until they were sure nobody was following them. By then, they found themselves by the road in middle of nowhere.

„Well, now what?“ Johnson said, crossing her arms. „Map was in the car.“

„We keep walking ‚till we get a reception. I’m happy enough with them not following us. Had enough of that for a lifetime.“ Carter kicked at a rock beneath his feet.

Lee kept looking at his phone with worry.

It didn't escape Johnson.

„Problem, Lee?“ She asked.

He looked up in startlement and put the phone away. „What? No, I agree.“

„Alright then, let’s get to it before it gets dark. Last thing I want is to be stuck in a forest in middle of nowhere, in complete darkness with two guys who can’t control their libido around each other, no thank you.“ Johnson sighed.

Carter and Lee shared a look of despair.


End file.
